What is electric current?

Electric current vs elelctron flow: what is electricity?

• If electric current runs opposite (from positive to negative) of electron flow, then what is electricity? Is electricity the movement of electrons? What is the importance of electric current in terms of producing electricity?

• Answer:

  electric current – electron flow – same thing with a different name. Historically, it was thought that current was due to the flow of positive charges, hence all the early word built from that premise. Now we know that it is actually negative charges, so the presumed positive current is incorrect. But tradition is a strong thing, so we continue to talk of current as positive, and to work with that assumption, even though it is incorrect. But bottom line, it makes no difference. + current, – current, the effects are the same. As long as you keep in mind that the current is due to – charges, you can work with + current with no problems. .